


Weather the Storm

by Jadedphase



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-12
Updated: 2014-05-12
Packaged: 2018-01-24 12:09:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1604651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jadedphase/pseuds/Jadedphase
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jasper is starting to come apart in tiny ways and Monty has seen it, because nobody else knows Jasper like he does and nobody else is going to find the time to help fix the wounds under the surface now.<br/>But this isn't the sterile and predictable setting of the Ark and Monty can't control all the variables.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Weather the Storm

"This has to be the worst idea you've had in a while," Jasper mumbled from behind the edge of a branch adorned with wilting leaves that he had opted to use as makeshift cover in the last few moments. Even sitting a few inches away, half ducked behind the fallen trunk of the owner of said branch, Monty could clearly see the pale white suggesting how tightly those twitching hands were gripping that branch. 

Some people wore their heart on their sleeves but lately Jasper had been wearing his nerves there, if not splattered across the front of his shirt in big neon letters that spelled out _HELP_ once anxiety caught up with him. 

Which was precisely the reason Monty had come up with what he assumed to be the brilliant plan of helping Jasper lose some of his new-found want to jump at shadows by taking his best friend for a nice, relaxing walk through the woods around the camp while everyone else was too busy to notice their absence. 

Not that Monty was bitter about it, since the apparent capture of a Grounder and the maiming of Finn took level of importance; but that was a fickle thing he'd noticed around the camp and with their makeshift leader. Jasper had been stumbling at death's door only a short time past and the flurry of activity to save him had been fitfully justified, but once he was stitched up and awake it was out the door and on to the next tragedy to befall their tiny society. 

Clarke was, he supposed, doing the best she could all in all, heavy is the crown and all that nonsense that made Monty certain he wouldn't have cared for the role of leader; but he was curious to see if Finn ended up spending just a few more days under her watchful eye than Jasper had. 

It didn't matter; for all the good she did, and Monty could respect that, she didn't know how to fix Jasper anymore than Finn or Bellamy or even the girl, Octavia, did. 

Because Jasper was a ticking bomb of energy and disconnected impulses wrapped up in wild optimism that didn't always add up to a wise soul, but certainly a devoted and determined one in his own ways. Not everyone could survive the twitching and the questions, the energy, and so far as Monty saw it that wasn't really their job anyway. 

It was his job, as Jasper's best friend, to unravel that hint of unfocused neurosis that had taken up gleaming in his eyes when he was lost to some fresh thought of the not-so-forgotten past. 

He had no doubt Clarke and the others noticed the occasional twitch from Jasper now, but they didn't sit up by the fire at night with him when he couldn't sleep and stared into the flames on an endless mumbling repeat cycle about trees and spears and dark places. They weren't the ones to notice where Jasper hesitated now and then to walking inside doorways that looked a little too much like caverns for his liking, or realize that he had adopted the habit of rubbing his fingers together when he was startled in the forest at an unfamiliar sound erupting nearby. 

It wasn't that they didn't have some good friends there, it was just that their friends were busy saving the masses while Monty was slightly more concerned about saving the mental stability of a single member of those masses. 

And Jasper would have done the same for him, he had no doubt, so that made it all the more reason to try; it was too difficult watching all the good parts of Jasper start to degrade under the strain written in scars across his weary skin. 

A walk through the woods had been part one of a complicated plan Monty had devised to bring Jasper back to himself, the subtle lull to start putting bandages on the scraps and cuts under his skin.

Which would have worked just fine if not for Earth deciding to throw a wrench in those plans with a downpour strong enough to send trees crashing around them, and thus Jasper into a nervous fit. 

"It's not acid rain at least," Monty pointed out but the fact did very little to calm the uneasy roll of Jasper's eyes left and right as the wind raged around them. It really was an impressive storm, Monty could have appreciated that if he'd had the chance to witness it from behind solid walls rather than a toppled tree trunk. 

So far his plans had gotten blown to the wayside, in the very literal sense, but Monty was an optimistic sort of guy and knew how to make the best of what he'd been given in a situation.

"At least we've got front row seats to the first big storm anyone has probably been around here to see for years," which Monty figured had to count for something.

"Might be the last one too," Jasper replied and held the branch up high above his head even though it was doing nothing to stop him from getting drenched. 

Determined, Monty pressed onward; "But neither one of us has seen real lightening, or trees break or any of what the Earth has been doing without us here. "

"I guess it is cool," Jasper admitted hesitantly, "even if it's trying to kill us."

"There you go," Monty beamed, as much as he could from behind damp hair hanging over his face, "like that old saying about making lemonade out of lemons or whatever."

Not that either of them had ever drank lemonade, but did that really matter right then?

By Jasper Logic it apparently did. "Aren't lemons those yellow things your mom was growing that we tried to eat and they were horrible?" 

"Yeah, but I don't think you're supposed to just eat them by themselves," Monty countered with what he thought was a wise and knowing tone that Jasper should take simply as one of the facts of the universe. 

"Like what?" Jasper had lowered the branch slightly, enough to give his friend a brow-furrowed look in return as he pondered the mysteries of lemons.

"I don't know," Monty offered a shrug rather than exasperation, as one of the keys to being friends with Jasper had always been patience, "I think the point I was trying to make is that you have to make good things out of ones that don't seem good at first."

"And you got that from a confusing old saying about some weird yellow thing we almost poisoned ourselves with?" Jasper's expression seemed nothing short of amazed at the connection there, if not a little uncertain there was in fact one. 

"Almost doesn't count in this case, we've had plenty of almost that turned out fine," short and to the point, Monty replied. 

Neither of them could argue that, too much of their lives had been a rolling notion of almost one after the other; Monty _almost_ being too shy to talk to the clumsy kid who tripped over him on his way across the classroom, Jasper showing up clad in too-large goggles falling off his head and a too-bright grin that _almost_ made Monty's parents apprehensive about letting their son be distracted by his new friend, half a dozen _almost_ being caught sneaking in and our of the greenhouse areas, nearly as many _almosts_ when it came to someone finding them hiding out in Monty's room hazy with the smoke in the air. 

Funny how the only almost that ended up changing the course of their life from the lazy pace it had been to the chaos now was the one where they had _almost_ managed not to get caught that one last time 'borrowing' plants from Monty's parents. 

Now they were in the middle of an entire forest, which Monty intended to put to good use once Jasper was less likely to have a panic attack if a branch snapped, and the range of possibles in almost were suddenly so much larger than either of them expected. 

"Talking about lemons made me hungry," Jasper lamented and Monty was inclined to agree even if it did neither of them any good to bother thinking like that. "I wouldn't try chewing on that branch if that's what you're thinking," Monty offered on the odd chance that his friend's mind was off in that place where things done made little sense beyond the realms of Jasper Logic. 

For his concern Monty earned a light swat with said branch and a mock-scowl, both of which caused him to laugh in spite of the situation. "I'm just saying it probably wouldn't taste so great."

Before Jasper could retort a streak of light across the sky and a howl of wind sent them both recoiling back behind the fallen tree in a tangle of desperate limbs and uncoordinated survival instinct; landing a shoe in Jasper's face and an elbow in Monty's ribs for all their efforts. A quick shove and a bit of a scuttle to put things more or less right and left them sitting side by side in the pouring rain without the faint benefit of Jasper's lost branch to provide what little shelter it had offered. 

There was little to do but settled down, try not to freeze, and wait it out; running back to camp might have been possible but with Jasper already on edge Monty was too wary that he might bolt right into a tree if given the chance and the prospects of dragging him back to camp was not going to fair well for either of them. 

Those thoughts were interrupted by the jostle at his side and the sudden close proximity of the taller male, no doubt in his mind that Jasper had moved closer to steal warmth in the chilly rain. 

"Why don't we build one of those camp things with the sticks," the way Jasper voiced the question left Monty uncertain if he was meant to answer or if Jasper was trying to reason it out with himself and the air around him. 

But he answered because he's used to answering all of Jasper's questions regardless of if they make sense or not, "I don't think it works too well after you're already soaking wet, and so is everything else so we couldn't get a fire started."

"So much for lemons," Jasper sighed and Monty can't help but laugh softly at the dejected tone. It's still better than paranoid Jasper so he'll take it. Maybe it's even a step to old, funny, energetic Jasper; or at least he can hope. 

As a few moments tick by with Monty sitting passively and Jasper rubbing his hands together for warmth and some outlet for his restless twinge the trees around them swayed and groaned and Monty took it all in; they really were lucky to see something so intense so up close and personal. It's far better than reading about storms and far more exciting, something he'll commit to memory and talk about later once they're back safe and sound at the camp with the others. 

But Jasper was still moving restlessly, the shake turning into a full out rattle of his shoulders and Monty would have sworn the motion was nearly humming but he couldn't tell if it was that or the chatter of his own teeth that was making the subtle sound. 

"Hey, remember when we were supposed to be writing that report on early twentieth century history?" Monty spoke over the storm, but at least in those close confines it's not too difficult to hear. And Jasper's head bobbed quickly in reply, then slowed slightly as he tried to pull all the memories up inside his swirling brain; "I don't think we ever got that one done. Well, I didn't, you wrote it." 

Most of their projects had gone that way, not for Jasper lacking intellect so much as lacking focus at times, but Monty thought it better safe than sorry when it came to staying under the radar in classes. It wasn't the point Monty was looking for though, so he tried again; "Neither of us wrote it that night because we'd been to the greenhouses earlier." 

Again, a bob of his head in agreement but little else, other than the slight warmth Monty was finally starting to feel where Jasper's side was pressed against his own. But he could see the wheels turning and when Jasper finally blinked he knew it must have gotten through the anxiety-laced haze. 

"What's that got to do with anything?" Jasper questioned, faintly skittish in his words and back to rubbing his hands together; somewhere in his brain he was dredging up the smoke-laced memories of Monty's laughter over something stupid one of them must have said that brought a small smile to the corners of his lips. 

Why anyone could condemn such a wonderful feeling of being free and happy simply because it came from the toxic smoke of a plant was beyond Jasper's comprehension really. "The world is such a backwards place," he spoke out loud rather than thought the conclusion. 

When Monty gave him what he assumed to be a questioning look, he had to guess since most of Monty's face was under a curtain of wet ebony hair at that point, Jasper shrugged, "I mean, we almost got floated for smoking, how stupid is that? We find something that feels good in that dull place and they think it's a reason to throw us in lock-down?" 

"They probably would have thrown us in there for other reasons," Monty pointed out, "I guess that one was just easier to put on paper." 

Jasper almost asked what he meant but Monty smirked a little and he made sense of it, laughing softly with one hand lifted to rub the back of his neck.

"Well that's a stupid reason too. I can see your parents turning me in for that, but not you."

"My parents couldn't turn you in without turning me in too," Monty shrugged and was willing to agree that it was in fact a very asinine reason to be locked up.

But he had his doubts that anyone ever knew in the first place since he and Jasper had always been locked away in his room and rather stoned when the occasional bout of joking had turned into nudging and then to more curious contact.  
It only ever happened when they were in the haze, a few stolen touches and a kiss or two, so Monty wasn't really sure what it meant in sober moments.

Or he was only half sure, to him it meant Jasper was his best friend and if there was a physical aspect to it then so be it; what was the point in getting hung up on the details with an entire lifetime of memories between them?

But the first of it all, the moment when Monty had nearly dropped the joint still hanging from his lips when Jasper had giggled and planted both his palms on the front of Monty's shirt and leaned in so close it made everything go a little fuzzy in his brain, had been the night of that report neither of them had managed to write. 

Monty really had dropped that joint a moment later when somehow it had been brushed aside and Jasper's lips had been there instead for the span of only short seconds before he was sitting there faintly perplexed over why Jasper was rambling on about the taste of flowers when all Monty's brain could pull together was the lingering sensations instead. 

They had both dissolved into laughter after that, with Monty informing Jasper that he was a terrible kisser and Jasper countering that if that was the case he would have to teach him how to do it better and Monty promising to help his poor wayward friend learn the proper way to do such things , and at least for that night it had been the end of it. 

But Monty had kept that promise, later on.

It seemed a strange time to go back to that moment but the storm was growing stronger and as much as he maintained his quiet demeanor for Jasper's sake Monty did feel a hint of worry; the same sort of worry he'd felt in the pit of his stomach and chest when Jasper had been at the brink of dying. Not as much for himself as for Jasper, because they would survive of course and he was sure of it, but there was something fragile to his friend now that Monty was trying so hard to keep from breaking. 

"You still cold?" he asked finally and received the affirmative nod, so Monty shifted closer and felt Jasper slump some in against his side.

"I guess it's not so bad," Jasper mumbled and tipped his head to the side to use the top of Monty's as a pillow of sorts while he sat there, "would be worse without you stuck here too." 

And in spite of the howling wind and the shivering they were both doing Monty couldn't bite back a hint of a smile at the words.


End file.
